1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic gaming devices; and more particularly to game controllers of video gaming devices.
2. Description of the Related Art
User gaming devices are fairly well known. These devices include game consoles with communicatively coupled controllers such as Nintendo game consoles, Sony game consoles, Microsoft game consoles, and various other game console devices. These game consoles couple to a television, may couple to an audio system, and support user game playing. Some of these game consoles support wireless communications with handheld game controllers and/or other game controllers. For example, the Nintendo Wii includes handheld controllers that detect their orientation to some degree, acceleration to some degree, and receive standard button inputs from a user. This information is wirelessly relayed to the game controller to control operation of corresponding game elements within the gaming environment. Other game controllers may include simulated game pieces such as musical instruments, baseball bats, golf clubs, and various other types of simulated devices.
With the continued advancement of technology, the complexities and capabilities of game consoles have become advanced. The game controllers support sophisticated gaming inputs received via numerous input sources, e.g., buttons, accelerometers, IR orientation detectors, positional detectors, and various other gaming inputs. The gaming environment in which these gaming inputs are received is very complex, providing a fairly realistic experience for a user of the gaming device/console. While some games supported by a game console may support only a few gaming inputs, other games require a large number of gaming inputs.
Most game consoles support many differing games, which are software controlled via respective software programming. Sometimes game controllers are specific to the particular game being supported, e.g., guitar hero, rock star, and various other particular types of games. In such a case, these various types of inputs must be supported by differing unique game controllers. The expense and complexity of the multiple game controllers can be overwhelming for some users from a cost standpoint.
Many gaming systems are contained within one unit such as the Nintendo Game Boy and its successors and the Sony Play Station and its successors, for example. These gaming systems include processing resources and a user interface contained within a single unit. With these units, various buttons receive user input while a display and speakers provide user output. Because of the limited battery life available for these units, their functionality has been limited in some regard.
Audio/video entertainment systems that include cable boxes, satellite boxes, and audio visual components typically include one or more remote control devices. These remote control devices allow users to remotely control system operation. Such technology is very old and has been prevalent for a number of years. However, one problem with these devices is that the operation generally of the set-top box is generic to all users and must be uniquely programmed if desired for a particular user. However, this particular programming in other settings is typically applied across the board to all potential users of the device.